The Return
by gwkitty
Summary: Kaoru's waiting for Kenshin to come back from a ship---and he finally does.


Gwkitty here! This is a short fic that I wrote a little while ago. I hope you enjoy. Please share your comments if you feel like it, or not. Meh. Well, thanks for reading!! :}

  
  
  


The Return

  
  
  


"Kenshin, Kenshin. Ken-shin. Ka-en-shi-en. Kay-enn-shin. Kenshin... Ken-san." Her finger was covered with sand now. Where she kneeled, it had scarred the patch of beach with the name she had spoken aloud.

It was more than a name though. At least to her it was. It was a prayer, and the man that it belonged to, that was what made saying it a religion. She stilled her finger's onslaught and stared down at the patch of sand beneath her. Sheesh. She had lost track of how many times she'd written it. It had deformed some over a while and she had started writing variations.

Wiping her hand off, she rested her head in the palm of that hand and looked up and out towards the sea. It would be dark soon. And not only that but it was becoming increasingly chilly. She shivered and pulled her shawl closer. The scent that was purely sea wafted in towards her and she took a deep breath of it, slowly exhaling. It helped soothe her nerves a bit.

Looking back down at her scribbles, she took a stick and erased the name from nature's canvas on the chance that someone might find it and get ideas... She sighed. He hadn't returned yet. Maybe tomorrow. She turned and began walking home.

  
  
  
  


It was getting darker now, the reds and oranges giving way to the cooler colors of the spectrum. She liked watching the sun set. For some reason, whenever she watched it, a picture of a symphony appeared in her head, but she could never hear their music.

Kaoru tucked her hair behind an ear and crossed her arms to keep some heat in. She entered her home through the gates, locking them behind her and headed inside, towards her room.

It was a regular routine that she went through each night. She took off her kimono and reverently draped it on a pole in her room and then dressed in a sleeping yukata. She then pulled out her futon and rolled it open, sitting down on it to brush out her hair.

It was a nice task, pulling the brush through her long locks of hair, freeing it from the knots that had collected over the day. Secretly, she wondered what it would be like to free Kenshin of his hair tie and brush out his fiery red mane with her own hands. Hope sparked the butterflies in her stomach and she became a little giddy. But it faded as soon as it had begun and she doubted there would ever come a time when Kenshin would just call her Kaoru, without the honorific.

A depressed sigh echoed throughout her room and she resigned herself to braiding her hair. After blowing the candle out, she laid down under her covers and stretched out, staring up at the ceiling. She prayed Kenshin was all right and would return safely. That was all she wanted, she decided. There wasn't much more to expect than that anyway. And with that, her eyes closed and her breathing evened out. Sleep had come.

  
  
  
  


A foreign sound jolted her upright from her sleep. Reaching around blindly for the lamp, her hand grasped it and she stumbled to her drawers to light it. Once lit, a burnt yellow filled the room, reflected into her eyes, and made her skin appear to glow. She cautiously peered out of her door and then brought her body out of her room. She trailed down the hallway to the verandah and then proceeded towards the door. She froze and her breath hitched in her throat.

Obviously he hadn't seen her yet, he was fumbling around in his pack, but when he stilled she figured he'd sensed her presence. His face slowly tilted up and she saw his eyes. A smile over came her features and she momentarily forgot she was holding a lamp when she thrust forward to infuse her body with his. A sigh was released as she burrowed her head into the junction of his neck and shoulder, and she took in his scent. His arms wound around her, tightened their embrace and a shiver struck Kaoru. She grasped him close for warmth and security, then leaned all of her weight into him. His response was to set his jaw down on her head and stroke her hair.

"Mou... Welcome back, Kenshin." She whispered into his neck.

"Arigatou gozaimasu."

A few seconds ticked by.

"Oro..."

"Ne, what's wrong?" Prodding.

"Uh... Kaoru-dono is standing on my foot..." She removed herself in lightening speed and put some distance between them.

"Sumimasen..." She meekly looked up at him. He was chuckling while scratching the back of his head in a nervous manner.

"It's quite all right. Sessha apologizes for waking you up and for being late. There was a storm that blew us off course. So..."

"I'm just glad you're finally back, I was getting lonely.." As soon as the words came out, she clasped her hands over her mouth and turned pink. Kenshin smiled and picked up his pack.

"Sessha feels the same, de gozaru." She forgot her forwardness and brightened. She followed him to his door and he stood there waiting for something.

"Uh... do you want me to accompany you inside?" She asked eagerly yet innocently.

"Oro?!?!"

"I mean!! That is, I meant, do you want me to tuck you in??" She was flustered. His gaze softened and his eyelids became heavy.

"Sessha wouldn't mind that at all.." His voice had become very low and husky. Kaoru followed him in, entranced. She waited until he motioned for her to turn around. She complied and then realized, Kenshin was changing! Her skin turned beet red. He told her he was finished and when she turned around, he was getting out his futon. She hurried over to him and took over so he stood back and watched. Then she motioned for him to sit. When he did, she spread out the blankets and laid them over him.

"Oyasumi, Kenshin," she instinctively leaned down and kissed him on the cheek. Dazed , he murmured a goodnight back and closed his eyes. She waited a few seconds and then gave into her little fantasy. She cautiously brushed her fingers through his bangs. Once. Twice. It was soft like hers... The third time her hand was captured by his. His eyes were open and focused on hers.

"Kaoru....dono..."

"Hai?"

"You should go to bed."

"Hai." She lowered her head to his shoulder and rested her body close to his, on top of the blankets.

"Oro?! What are you doing?"

"Going to bed." She reached around for his arm and pulled it over her as her blanket.

"Matte.." he whispered. She stilled and looked over as he untucked the covers and then pulled her into his side with one arm. He then dropped the blankets over them and returned his arm to where she had put it.

"Oyasumi, Kenshin." A smile.

"Oyasumi."


End file.
